Gabby Douglas' Haters Hate Themselves

Social media loudmouths as well as official commentators who get personal about Olympians actually say more about their own shortcomings than they do about the contestants that they criticize.

These days many critics seem to want to make names for themselves by attacking whatever popular name will give their tirades greater SEO visibility.

Sadly there have always been, and will always be, those who feel a need to scrutinize and criticize celebrities, especially those as charismatic as Gabby Douglas. As the saying goes, “haters gonna hate.”

Jealousy and/or self-loathing is what I suspect drives most haters.

Gabby Douglas is young, gifted and beautiful. Her 2012 Olympics hairstyle is similar to her gymnast peers. She and McKayla Maroney both wore the half-bun/ponytail look, while the rest of the American ladies’ gym team (“The Fab Five”) opted mostly for variations on buns. They all showed team unity with their similar coifs.

Gabby and her teammates elegantly represented America on the world stage in the 2012 Olympic Games. I don’t think Beyonce hair or Dolly Parton hair would ever be aerodynamically suitable in any gymnastics milieu.

Gabby and the others don’t need the artifice of Hollywood’s razzle-dazzle to launch them. They’ve gotten noticed due to extreme excellence. Excellence itself is the best kind of launching pad.

Those who would judge otherwise would never be on par with a Gabby Douglas because they’d fear that their contrived, overpriced hairdos might get mussed. How many self-loathing hairstyle haters will never become swim champs because they don’t dare risk their coiffure?

I don't understand two things about sports... 1)Why ANYONE cares about their personal lives of players and 2). Why ANYONE would listen to a word they say about anything? Let us enjoy their work on the filed, certainly. But, really, otherwise I have no interest in them whatsoever.

Thank you for saying this, I am saddened by my fellow Americans who look past her outstanding and unmatched talent to find a negative. She is first and foremost, an American who has won Gold Medals for her country. Yet, even the commentators focused on other gymnasts who were not people of color and have not achieved what Ms. Douglas has achieved. They kept focusing on Jordyn Wieber as Gabby performed, Jordyn Wieber didn't even make the cut! I was appalled that they kept the camera on Jordyn Wieber and her mom!
Anyway, I am so proud of Ms. Gabby Douglas and every other American should be too.

Black people need to stop looking at hair and look whats in the head. Black girls are always talking about how much they hate white girls, but in reality, want to be just like them, with the long flowing fake hair. Gabby is a gymnast, not a fashion model. She is beautiful in her own right. So called, " good hair " is good for one thing, to keep your head covered.

I echo Jimmy, "well said." It astounds me that people who have no comprehension of what it takes to be that good at anything find ways to tear down the successful individual.

Gabby was awesome, all the gymnasts were awesome. Their personalities shined. People want to criticize…here, criticize their Russian counterpart Aliya Mustafina as she swatted at her coaches hand when he tried to consoler her after a difficult performance. That is worth criticizing.